I should buy stock in Hallmark, because June is a very busy month of celebrations. Well, not "busy", per se, but very full...with family births that turn into birthdays and weddings that become anniversaries, which make for a busy month when graduations are added. You get the picture.
Once upon a time, the month of June held two birthdays: mine and my sister's. When I married Daniel, my in-law's wedding anniversary (the day before my birthday) was added to the calendar. About 28 years later, we added granddaughter Laneya's birth day, which fell only four days after mine. The following year granddaughter Abigail surprised everyone by arriving early, on my sister's birthday--June 11. Six years ago granddaughter Jane was born in-between my birthday and Laneya's. To round out the calendar of celebrations: Father's Day and my birthday collide once every seven years (or so--I am not good at math) and a decade ago our son Nat was married to Kelly on June 28.
This year, graduations were added to the June celebratory mix. Our two oldest granddaughters, Eliana (L) and Laneya (R) graduated from middle school--which means they were promoted to high school! (Which means that life is passing by faster and faster each year. This is not science--just fact!) We flew out to California to observe their ceremonies and celebrate with them at this special time in their life.
I remember my graduation from 8th grade (or Jr. High, as we called it back in "The Olden Days").
My introverted self sat in a sea of mostly student-strangers as student leaders tried to summon all things 'mature' and an adult speaker pontificated way too long (all I remember is "blah-blah-blah") and a couple of musical numbers were performed before our names were called to receive a certificate. It felt so important to me then. Thinking back helped me appreciate this significant hallmark of achievement for our granddaughters.
Time and life-experience changes perspective. Looking through the small yearbook from my 8th grade year, all I see now are immature kids feeling big and proud because it was the pinnacle of their education at that moment in time. We thought we knew so much. We put on airs trying to imitate adult life. But life's reality has a way of equalizing things: cool kids grew up to become regular folks; bad kids grew up to be fire fighters and police officers; nerds metamorphized into entertainers. Athletes tumbled through years with aches and pains and limited movement.
But this time, while sitting through the long ceremonies in inadequate seating for my aging back, after having recalled the former things, I chose to remember to celebrate the young ladies who are my granddaughters and are growing up way too quickly. To cherish the present moments and mini-milestones, knowing that before long they will become graduating high school seniors, poised and ready to jump off the safe school-track diving board into the pool of life, or higher education or training for a chosen career. Who knows, maybe one of them will become a staff writer for Hallmark Cards!